TOWARDS A JUST TRANSITION

The climate crisis affects all of us, and we each have a role to play in addressing it. If we are to lead a shift to a low-carbon economy that is more resilient, and strengthen our global competitiveness – while addressing the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment – urgent measures must be put in place to reduce emissions and improve resilience.

While the projected impacts in select at-risk value chains and sectors are extremely concerning, it is important to recognise that there are also significant opportunities in the transition – to improve the well-being of the economy, where people live and work in meaningful and positive relationships with each other and the planet.

The just transition has significant implications for all social partners. A successful transition requires collective action, pulling towards a shared vision, with a high degree of trust between all parties to undertake their respective, important individual roles.

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) was established in 2020 as a resolution of the Presidential Jobs Summit. It was recently legislated through the Climate Change Act 22 of 2024 to facilitate and oversee an ambitious, just and inclusive response to climate change, by advising government and social partners on the efficacy of its response to climate change. Our collective vision as commissioners and the secretariat is to drive an inclusive, contextually relevant shift towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and climate-resilient economy – one that unlocks vast economic opportunities, protects vulnerable communities and harnesses the full potential of collaborative partnerships, and one that establishes adaptation readiness and enables the pathways for attaining a just transition.

South Africa is among the top 15 largest emitters of carbon dioxide worldwide (primarily due to its reliance on coal energy), and has recognised the need to contribute its fair share to global climate goals, taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and the need for recognition of its capabilities and national circumstances.

The case for climate action

The built environment sector is responsible for a significant portion of carbon emissions and is vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, requiring a shift towards climate-resilient and sustainable practices through collaborative efforts and innovative solutions. The sector covers a vast range of interrelated developmental, social and economic aspects, with many of those aspects impacting or impacted by climate change, and the corresponding climate-change adaptation readiness. It touches all aspects of our lives, encompassing the buildings we live in, the distribution systems that provide us with water and electricity, and the roads, bridges and transportation systems we use to get from place to place.

Globally, the built environment contributes significantly to climate change and plays a significant role in most economies. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Synthesis Report, worldwide, buildings are responsible for 37% of global carbon emissions and 34% of energy demand. The IPCC further characterises the link between its economic contribution from the built environment as having a consumptive character – on average it consumes significant quantities of energy, fresh water, and harvested wood, among others, and buildings often located on the most productive land required for food production. Other environmental impacts of buildings include resource depletion, land pollution and biodiversity loss.

In South Africa, the picture is no different: through electricity consumption alone, the built environment accounts for a quarter of our carbon emissions. The way the built environment manifests here is evident in the polarised nature of South African society – marked by the disjuncture in development in cities, towns and rural areas, where “world class” housing, infrastructure, services and amenities coexist alongside degraded environments characterised by poor quality/informal housing and degrading infrastructure, services and amenities. This spatial inequity further affects the social, economic and liveability aspects of the built environment, with direct implications for climate change responses.

Transformational change

For the built environment to reduce emissions and adapt, transformational change is necessary. Transitioning to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future is a complex and long-term challenge. It requires persistence, innovation and solutions that are yet to be conceptualised. While the road ahead may seem daunting, the key is to keep moving forward, adapting and learning as we go.

These solutions include, but are not limited to, efforts in climate-change mitigation, such as clean energy, energy efficiency, green finance, logistics and infrastructure. Our interests extend to the built environmental fraternity and sector, with pertinent issues being water management, agriculture, climate-smart cities, water-smart initiatives and nature-based solutions. Addressing climate change response in the built environment means strengthening adaptation measures to improve the resilience to immediate events and long-term climatic shifts that impact water security, food security and human health, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups and sectors. This means we require a mix of grey or physical infrastructure, nature or ecosystem-based solutions, institutional and socio-cultural interventions (IPCC AR6 2022).

Much of the country’s construction is undertaken informally, and as construction methods and materials have considerable impact on the climate response, it is important to achieve successful, sustainable and quality built environments where all needs are met. This means ensuring that there is alignment between role players and the public and private sectors, NGOs and communities, in terms of a common plan or vision for a sustainable future.

Historically, progress in the sector has been focused on reducing buildings’ operational emissions. But lighting, cooling and heating solutions for mitigating emissions embodied in buildings that originate from their design, construction and deployment of materials has lagged. Built environment development has relied on regulation and control to ensure the health and safety of people. Implementation and the reliance on regulation and controls by the public sector has constrained innovation, experimentation, and piloting of climate adaptation and mitigation solutions.

The role the private sector plays in climate response agendas must not be underestimated. The private sector, inter alia, is instrumental in implementing public sector contracts for built infrastructure, such as housing and road networks. An underestimated aspect of built environment adaptation is the informal construction industry.

The built environment is an “all of society” responsibility and stands to play an important role in transformative climate action towards resilience. Resilient infrastructure requires climate action that targets the realisation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all UN member states in 2015, which outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While several of the SDGs apply, SDG 13, which emphasises “taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by 2030” is particularly relevant to the built environment.

The just energy transition needs partners to agree on the pace of decarbonisation; the scaling up of low-carbon energy and the value chains that support it; the upgrading of the energy grid; and the mobilisation of climate finance, at scale.

At the same time, a just adaptation and resilient transition will need partners that are willing to invest and practically engage in initiatives meant to enhance adaptive capabilities of complex and intertwined multiple sectors that do not conform to traditional investment and funding principles.
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